Three journalists briefly detained in Nigeria

Four men in plainclothes claiming to be police
officers briefly detained three journalists inside an office of a college in
Aka Offot, a suburb of Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, on February 6,
2013, according to local journalists and news
reports. The journalists were reporting on allegations of mismanagement at
the federal government-run Science and Technical College, news reports said.

Patrick Odey, a reporter for the Daily Trust, told CPJ that he and two
other reporters, Aniefiok Macauley of the Daily
Independent and Aniefiok Udonquak of BusinessDay, had made an appointment with the principal of the
college to discuss the allegations. Odey said that when they arrived, the
principal told them she was calling her superiors to get clearance to discuss
the allegations. Instead, the agents arrived and detained them in the office
for two hours.

Joseph Effiong, chairman of the local chapter of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists, told CPJ that the reporters were released only
after members of the union intervened.

Etim Dickson, a local police spokesman, said the
journalists had not been arrested and were "simply doing their duty," according
to news
reports.